CDlinux For Linux

CDlinux (Compact Distro Linux) is a compact and open-source distribution of GNU/Linux designed from the ground up to by used by system administrators who are looking for a reliable system rescue CD that runs directly from CD-ROM or USB. It features Xfce as the default graphical desktop environment.

There are two editions of CDlinux, a standard one with a graphical server and the Xfce desktop environment, and a minimal flavor that features only command-line software.

Both editions are freely available for download and use, distributed as Live CD ISO images of approximately 90MB and 40MB in size respectively. They’re dual-arch ISOs, which means that you can use them on 32-bit and 64-bit computer platforms.

From the boot menu, you can start the live system in normal or safe graphics modes, with support for a specific language, as well as to perform a system memory (RAM) diagnostic test.

As mentioned, the default graphical desktop environment (DE) for the Standard edition of CDlinux is Xfce, which provides users with a traditional, user-friendly and familiar interface that is both low on resources and easy to use.

Default applications include the Pidgin IM client, Sylpheed email client, Transmission torrent downloader, Xfburn CD/DVD burning software, Mozilla Firefox web browser, Thunar file manager, Bulk Rename batch file renaming tool, GParted partition editor and Leafpad text editor.

The distribution has been designed to perfection with support for multiple languages, including English, German, French, Japanese, Russian, Traditional and Simplified Chinese, as well as support for Linux, Windows and Mac OS X file systems.

Summing up, CDlinux is one of the best system rescue/data recovery discs powered only by open-source technologies and applications. It features a lightweight desktop environment and can be easily installed on a local drive and extended to be used as a desktop system.